Why Doesn't The Chicago Public Library Have an App

I was surprised over the weekend when I discovered that the Chicago Public Library does not have an app available. Additionally, their website is not user friendly when you pull it up on your mobile phone or tablet. (It's just a miniaturize version of the main site, which has many tabs and pages posted on the front page. I kept hitting the wrong button.) An app could solve all of these issues, and make it much easier to check the availability of a book and placing it on hold.

I'm very proud of the Chicago Public Library and how it has been forward thinking with integrating technology into the library. But no app... come on!

Look how small the links are.

Writing My First Book Review

Well, I'm writing my first ever book review for a communications journal. The journal I am writing for is called: The Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. It is based out of Temple University. The book I am reading and reviewing is Listening Publics: The Politics and Experience of Listening in the Media Age.

I must admit, I am rather nervous about writing this review. Since it is going to be published, what happens if I totally miss interpret what the author is talking about? If you actually look at my copy of the book currently, you'll see that I have written all over it, and underlined everywhere. Maybe being so nervous is a good thing? It is making focus a great deal, since I don't want to mess up. We will see I guess.

Of course I will post my completed review here.

Superman: 75th Anniversary

Earlier today, a student of mine showed me this video. It's entitled: Superman: 75 Years of Heroic History. It's a short animated video created by Zak Synder and legendary animator Bruce Timm. It basically showcases Superman's illustrious history. I especially love the tributes to George Reeves and Christopher Reeve in it.
*The video is finally on YouTube

What is Cereal Thursday?

Let me tell you a little story. About four years ago, there were two students, Jeff and Terry, that worked with me at WXAV 88.3FM. Every Friday, the two gentleman would have waffles for lunch or dinner. They called it, Waffle Friday. The general consensuses was that the greatness of waffles was slightly under appreciated, and that it was high time that we began to show our appreciation to the breakfast giant.  It became a little tradition amongst WXAV staff members. For about a year, Fridays became Waffle Fridays, and we would dine on delicious waffles.

Now I think we can all agree that breakfast food is the greatest amongst all food. No matter the time of day, you can justify dinning on an omelet, whisking up some pancakes, or gobble up the candy meat known as bacon. For me, I've always been a cereal man. No matter the time of day or night, I'll pour myself a bowl and feast of the glory that is Captain Crunch, Frosted Flakes, or Corn Pops. A few months ago, I was speaking with Terry, and we began reminiscing about the "good old" days. Naturally Waffle Fridays was mentioned, and we both smiled.

Later, it dawned on me that cereal, like waffles, was becoming slightly under appreciated. Let's face it, many of us do not have the time to pour ourselves a bowl, before we start our day. Cereal by its very nature is a stationary food. Yet we all have those great childhood memories of mom or dad pouring us a bowl of our favorite cereal and watching a little cartoons before we headed off school. (If you lived in Chicago, you watched the Bozo Show.)

With this in mind, I would like to propose the creation of Cereal Thursday. All you have to do is at some point on Thursdays treat yourself to a bowl of cereal. It can be for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Just take a small portion of your day for yourself, and remember the joys of your youth. Additionally feel free to talk about it. I for one will be tweeting what cereals I will be dinning on, and sharing pictures. I'm also interested in testing the power of the internet and see if we can turn this into a thing. If you wish to participate in Cereal Thursdays, use the hashtag :#cerealthursday on Twitter. If your curious about what cereals I will be dinning on, follow me on Twitter, Twitter.com/pkreten

A Few Random Thoughts For A Friday Evening

Saturday (September 28th) is going to be a pretty exciting day for me. I am attending my first IBS radio conference. This conference is being held at Columbia College, and it will feature a key note address from WXRT legend Teri Hemmert. I'm debating about whether I should ask her any questions about the Beatles?

The sessions the conference is offering promise to be engaging and thought provoking. Some of the topics include: how to be a "21st century dj", how to critique demos, running a successful pledge drive, and why radio needs new ideas. One session I am particular interested in is "How to create your very own radio theater". Maybe I'll be able to achieve one of my more elusive goals of writing and producing my own radio drama.

If that wasn't enough to have me be excited, there's more. I have been invited to be a panelist at one of the sessions. I will be speaking at the fundraising and pledge drive panel. I'm very intrigued to see how this will all take place.

My Favorite Podcast

Additional I heard a fantastic episode of WireTap this week. The topic was about being invisible to others, and in the episode there is a short story featured that I actually read on another website, uproxx.com, which I absolutely loved. It's entitled Missed Connection and it is about these two people who do not have the courage to speak to each other and end up staying on a subway train together for 60 years. It is really captivating and I finally know who the author is. Here's his blog.

As I reach my conclusion, I would just like to say, check out Moby's new album Innocents. It's pretty outstanding, and I wrote this blog while writing the album. You can stream the album off of NPR here. A Case for Shame and Almost Home are my favorites thus far. Be sure to check out my interview with Moby on College Radio Day, Tuesday Oct. 1st, on WXAV.com

Moby's Thoughts on Photography

Over the past three weeks, I have been incredibly lucky. Not only have I been able to interview The Man, The Myth, The Legend. The Andrew W.K. (Take that bucket list!!) But I was also able to interview a musical artist that I've only just begun to really appreciate over the last few years. And that would be Moby.

In an exclusive interview that will air on College Radio Day, I always have to do a plug when possible, Moby and I discuss a wide range of topics. We talk about his new album Innocents, which comes out on Oct 1st, his love of college radio, and his favorite song of all time. Moby is incredibly articulate and makes some really fascinating points. The interview is about 20mins long, and I'll be sure to post it on this blog after College Radio Day.

However when the subject turns to photography, things really got interesting. Two of my cousins and my uncle are photographers, and I always enjoy picking their brains about art and photography. So I thought it would be fun to share Moby's take on photography too. It is only about 2 mins long.

Moby on Photgraphy

Interviewing Andrew W.K.

Last week I was able to interview an artist that has been on my bucket list of dream interviews since 2003. It was the man, the myth, the legend, the Andrew W.K. When I first heard his debut album "I Get Wet", I was immediately sucked into the headbanging, party nature of the album. The album sort of became the unofficial party album for my friends and I. You can rock out anytime you wanted to, and not have to apologize about it. That's the genius of Andrew W.K. He writes party anthems that are accessible to everyone.

Surprisingly I was not nervous for the interview. I'm usually a little nervous before every interview, but I was cool. calm, and collective for W.K. As soon as we started talking, I felt liked this was the 15th or 16th time I had talked to him. He was super cool, and relaxed. I've included the interview below. I hope you enjoy it.

And party hard!!!!

Andrew W.K. Interview